GATE

GATE - Logo

Since 2002 a German industry consortium under the leadership of IFEN GmbH (Poing near Munich) a ground based flexible German Galileo Test and Development Environment (GATE) was developed in the south of Germany. GATE is a navigation system which transmits Galileo signals with the help of ground based transmitters located on the mountains around Berchtesgaden. The purpose of GATE is not to replace Galileo regional. GATE shall support the development of products and applications before the European satellite navigation system Galileo is full available. The system is designed for integration of Galileo test satellites GIOVE A/B and Galileo IOV satellites. The aims of the mission are:

Contribution to the design and validation of Galileo signal structure

Providing a test environment for the development of Galileo receivers

Deployment of a test area for different Galileo/GPS applications in the area of land, sea and airplane environments

The GATE Mission begins before the launch of the first Galileo test satellite GIOVE A and will end with the full availability of Galileo (FOC).